Panthers News

Rats Roundup - Huberdeau, Barkov Back!

Barkov backhands goal off Lehner

BUF@FLA: Barkov slips backhand shot past Lehner

Aleksander Barkov backhands his own rebound past Robin Lehner, as Jaromir Jagr receives an assist for his 1,885th career point

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Fridays are, by nature, great. But Fridays where your favorite team announces the return of two key players? Well, that's a great way to kick off the weekend.

Let's dive right in. Welcome back to Rats Roundup!

Huby, Barkov Return

The Panthers announced today that forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov have been cleared to play. Huberdeau, who has yet to play a regular season game after sustaining a lower body injury in the preseason, is expected to make his season debut tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. And Barkov, who was red-hot when he was taken out of the lineup, is also expected to play tonight after missing the last 15 games.

What are the Cats getting as these players return to the ice? Well, here's a reminder for those with short memories.

Trocheck Honored in Saginaw

It's been a wild couple of weeks for Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck. He had a scorching-hot month of January (13 points in 13 games) that coincided with his first career NHL All-Star appearance. Over in Los Angeles, he put up four points for the Atlantic squad on an all-Florida line (Thundercats! https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/825831041684406275) with Lightning players Viktor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov.

Wednesday was another busy day for Trocheck, who made a trip up to Saginaw, Mich., where he played junior hockey. This was no regular trip, though. His old OHL team, the Saginaw Spirit, honored the 23-year-old forward by retiring his number - the first time that's been done in their franchise's history.